Popcorn machine



Jan, 31, 1950 POPCORN MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. R. PERKINS 2,495,865

Filed Oct. 30. 1947 a. *m 2::- 60-" I;

t id o INVENTOR.

RON/4Z0 PEEK/N5 BY Jim 31, 1950 R. R, PERKINS 2,495,865

POPCORN MACHINE Filed Oct. 30, 19 .7 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR. I

ATTKS:

Jan. BE, 1950 R. R. PERKINS 2,495,865

POPCORN MACHINE 7 Filed Oct. 50, 1947 a Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR RON/4L0PfR/O/VS Jan. 311., 1950 R. R. PERKINS 2,495,365

POPCORN MACHINE Filed 001:. 30, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR.

Jan. 311 R950 R. R. PERKINS 2,495,865

POPCORN MACHINE Filed 001;. 30, 1947 8 She ets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

RON/4Z0 Pf/F/O/VS BY Jan. 33, 1950 R. R. PERKINS 2,495,865

POPCORN MACHINE Filed Oct. 30, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 IN V EN TOR.

RON/4L0 PfR/U/V WVgM ATTYS.

jam 31, 1950 R. RJPERKlNS 2,495,865

POPCORN MACHINE Filed Oct. 30, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 IN V EN TOR.

am 331 150 R. R. PERKINS 2,495,865

POPCORNYMACHINE Filed Oct. 50, 1947 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR.

l atenieei Jan. 31,

UNITED STATES TENT osnce i invention rei'ates to popcorn machines.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine which isparticularly designed. for popping po corn and "which includes astationary heating means, a rotary agitator, and a 'Vertiball'y shiftable cover.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of this k i'fidwhich can be used for making popcorn, or for cooking meats or other foodproducts.

A further object of this invention is t'o provide a machine of this kindwhich will pop large or small quantities of corn with equal efiiciency,the pop-pee com being visible through a transparent kettie or coverwhich is disposed in invetted position over the hot plate, and thekettle or cover being verticallyshiitable from an operative positionoverlying the het plate to an inop' erative osition spaced above the-hotplate. The

kettle or cover is c'onneetefi to an elevator which is manuallycontrolled and when in lowered operative position is coupiedto powermember for rotation of the kettle or cover andan agitating means fixedreiative to and rotatable with the kettle or cover. I

To the foregoing objects, and others which may hereinafter more fullyappear, the iriventioh on s'ists of the novel construction, combinationand arrangement 03 parts, as will be more specifically referred to andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be understoodthatchanges,

variations, and modifications may be resorted to which fall Within thescope of the invention as claimed.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical section, artly broken away and in detail, of apopcorn machine constructed according to an embodiment of thisinvention. I I

Figure 2 is a plan View of the device shown in Figure 1. I

I Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of the upper portion of thedevice;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the cover and lower pan. I t

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a eeteued'reer elevation ef the device showing the cover inelevated positioii Figure '7 is a sectional View taken on the line 1-4of Figure 3.

6 Claims. (01. 99- 2333) Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional View takenon the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a sectional view taken-oh the line 9 -47 of Figure 3.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary vertical section, partly: in elevation, of aihoiii'fied form of this ihv'ehtio'n. I I

Figure 11 item fragmentary side elevation, partly in vertical section,oh an enlarged Scale or the upper 'pertitn of the modification shown inmee -Q. 4

Fig re 12 is'a sectional view taken on the line ifiiitof'F'iguie 11. I

t ere 13- ts a fraeteeterysectionel View taken on the the W4 setFig'ii're 10. I

Figur 14' frag-menteiyseetiofiai view taken on the line s zi-M er Figure13. I

Eigtue 15 is a fragmentary sectional view taken the liners-l 5 of Figure14'.

Figure it is a ragmentetyseetional view taken oiitiielinei e-' l It ofFigure 15. I

Figure 17 is afragn entary'sectiorial view taken o'nthe lihe i1-l ttfFigure 13. I

Figure 18 is a fragmentary sectional view taken o the line it i'e erFigure 10. Referrmg to the drawihgs and first te Figures 1 to" e,inclusive, th numeral 22 de'sigh'ates genemiiy an upright heating whichshown in Figurez i s substahtially'reotah mar plan being rei me i witheppesite siee wall and 22, a rear Wall is ,aii'd a bottom Wall 3. Anutter horiteeter ail i s fixed between the opposite side and em wallsbeing disposed as shown Fi'g- 1 at poiht spaced; downwardly item theetiges of the side and end walls.

The frtet of the ousing is preferably open. A trey 2 1's disposed stovethe Wall 25 and formed at its-outer margin with en upwaraly offsetamulet rib 27. A verti-eel eylihiii'ioal shift 23 extendsdownwardly fromthe rib orb'eaci 21 and is eeptee te ns-age on the uppersie'e of theheti'z'entarwe r 25. The trey which includes the central plate 26,the'beaei 21 ar d the cylindrical Ski-l tes is xedly secure to upperWall 25 by means er 'a mute bolt is white is formed at it's u ,1 endWithah' ahhiflar'rib 'eiigaging oh the timber S de of the tray 26. Thebelt 23 exteiitisthi'oiigli a o'e'ntrai opeliii'ig iil formed iii thewail 2'5 arid upper and lower lock huts 32 and 3a respectively, secur-th beit 29 to the wen 25. A vertie' n dgspes'eq agitator shaft atrotatabli engages through theb'o're st er thebelt 29, tending tel w thewet it arid iotatabiy meun'ted in u right bearin pest 3t whieh is 'fiiee'at its let/e1 e'n'ci' at 3! t tnetottem wen 2:1; A motor supportingbracket 38 is disposed in the lower portion or lower compartment 35 ofthe musing team th braeket 32 at its oute end is seeur'ea te anglemember 4 0 which is fixed" to the inner side of the rear wall 23. Thebracket 33 is formed at its inner end with a clamp 4| which engagesabout the bearing post or standard 36.

A motor platform 42 is secured to the bracket or support 38 and a motor43 is mounted on the platform 42. The motor 43 has a shaft 44 which isconnected with a speed reducing means 45 of conventional constructionand a driven shaft 46 extends from the speed reducing means 45 and has abevelled gear 41 on its inner end which meshes with a bevelled gear 48fixed to the agitator shaft 34. The shaft 34 has fixed thereto anagitating means enerally designated as 49 which engages on the upperside of the tray. The agitating means 49 includes a plurality ofradially extending rods 56 which are formed at their outer ends withupturned outer portions I engaging closely about the concave surface 52which is formed between the margin of the tray member x 26 and theannular bead 21.

Each rod 56 is also formed at its inner end with an upturned member 53which is adapted to be welded or otherwise fixedly secured to a collar54 which is fixed by means of a set screw 55 to it;

A top plate 59 is mounted on the upper end I.

of the shaft 34, the latter being reduced in diameter as indicated at 66and having a plate 6I of substantial thickness disposed about thereduced portion 66. The top plate 59 bears against the plate GI and isfixedly secured relative thereto by means of a nut 62. A pair of closureplates 63 are hingedly secured as at 64 to the plate 59 and are adaptedwhen in open position to be raised to a substantially vertical positionas shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 3.

The tray 26 is adapted to be heated from below by means of an electricalheating unit 65 which is of annular configuration and is secured to thelower side of the tray or plate 26 by means of clamping bars 66 throughwhich bolts 61 engage. The bolts 61 are threaded into depending bosses66 which are formed on the lower side of the tray or plate 26. Theheating unit 65 is adapted to be connected to a switch 69 by means of aconductor l6 and a conductor II also connects the motor 43 with theswitch 69.

In order to provide for raising and lowering of the cover 56, the shaft34 has secured thereto below the wall 26 a collar 12. A cover operatinglever 23 is rockably mounted as at 14 on a bracket '55 which is fixed tothe rear wall 23 and the lever I3 is adapted to straddle the shaft 34having secured thereto a short length of bar 16 which is formed with anoffset intermediate portion, thereby providing a space through which theshaft 34 may loosely engage. The lever I3 is formed with an obtuselydisposed and downwardly extending outer portion 11 terminating in anobtusely inclined handle I8. A spring 19a is secured to the inner end ofthe lever I3 at a point rearwardly from the pivot 14 and the spring 19a.is secured at its lower end to an eye bolt 86a which is fixed relativeto the platform 42.

The cover 56 is adapted to move downwardly by gravity and is held in itsuppermost inoperative position by the spring 19a resiliently holding thelever I3 in the dot and dash position shown in Figure 1. The lever 13 isheld against upward swinging under the action of the spring 19a by meansof a spring-pressed bolt I9 which is slidable in guides 86 carried bythe outer lever portion '51. The bolt 79 includes a right-angular innerportion 8| terminating in a hook 82 which is adapted to engage a keeper83 fixed on the upper end of the bearing post 36.

Referring now to Figures 10 to 18, inclusive, there is disclosed amodified form of this invention. A heating means 84 including a tray andelectrical heater similar to that disclosed in Figures 1 to 9 is mountedon a centrally disposed hollow post 65. The combined tray and heater 84has a cover 86 mounted on the upper side thereof which is identical withthe cover 56 and is secured to a shaft 81 extending downwardly through athreaded bolt 88 which extends centrally through the post 85. The postis formed with an opening 89 through which the electric cables 96 to theheater are adapted to be extended. The supporting post 85 is mounted onthe upper side of a receiver bottom wall SI which is disposed within ahousing 62. Bottom wall 9| has extending upwardly therefrom acylindrical side wall 93 and the side wall 93 is substantially greaterin diameter than the diameter of the tray and heater member 84 so thatthe popped corn may overrun the tray and drop into the receiver,generally designated as 94 and comprising the bottom wall 9i and theside wall 93. The shaft 81 is journalled at its lower end in anupstanding aearing 95 which is secured to a supporting bar or plate 96fixed in the lower portion of the housing 92. A motor platform 91 issecured to the upper side of the supporting bar or plate 96 and a motor98 is mounted on the platform 91.

The motor 98 has a shaft 99 which is connected through a coupling I66 toa speed reducing member I6I of conventional construction. The speedreducing member I6I has a driven shaft I62 extending therefrom on whicha bevelled gear I63 is secured and the gear I63 meshes with a gear I64which is fixed on the vertical shaft 81.

In order to provide for raising the cover 86, I have provided a coverelevating lever I65 which is disposed horizontally below the bottom wallSI and is pivotally mounted as at I66 on a bracket I61. The lever I65has rotatably mounted thereon a pulley I68 which is secured to the leverI05 between the ends of the lever and a cable I69 is trained about thepulley I68. The cable I69 extends from diametric sides of the pulley I68in a pair of runs I I6 as shown in Figure 13 and these two runs I3 arethen trained over a pair of pulleys III which are rotatably carried by ahorizontal shaft II2 which is fixed on the upper ends of a pair ofupright supporting bars I I3. The two runs of the cable I69 are thenextended downwardly on opposite sides of the shaft 81 and are secured ina washer I I4 which loosely engages about the shaft 81 and bears at itsupper side, shown in Figure 18, against a collar H5 which is fixed bymeans of a set screw I I6 to the shaft 81.

The lever I65 on its lower side slidably engages a guide bar I H whichis fixed to the lower side of the receiver bottom wall 9I. The lever I65at its outer end portion is formed with a downwardly offset extension II8 on which a latching bolt I I9 is pivotally mounted as indicated atI26. A looped guide I2I is fixed relative to the extension IIB as shownin Figure 14 and the bolt II9 loosely engages through the guide I2I. Thebolt H9 is adapted to engage a keeper member I22 which is fixed to theforward portion of the bottom wall 9i as shown in Figure 10 so that whenthe lever I05 is swung forwardly to the dotted line position shown inFigures 13 and 16, the bolt H9 will ride over the tapered r inclinedkeeper I22 and will gravitatingly engage behind this keeper as shown inFigure 16 so as to thereby lock the lever I in its elevating position.

In the use and operation of this invention and referring first toFigures 1 to 9, inclusive, the popcorn is placed in the tray 26, theclosures 53 of the cover being elevated or raised as shown in Figure 3,to permit discharge of the popcorn inside the cover 56 and onto the tray26. The motor 63 is connected with the source of current supply throughthe switch 69 and closing of the switch 69 also energizes the heaterunit 65. In the operating position lever 13 is latched as shown in fulllines in Figure 1. The rotation of the shaft 34 by the motor 43 willcause the popcorn in the tray 25 to be agitated as it is heated and whenthe popcorn has been popped the cover 56 is raised by unlatching thelever 13 and raising this lever to the dot and dash position shown inFigure 1. Spring 59 will hold lever 73 in its uppermost position. Thepopcorn, no longer laterally supported by the cylindrical cover wall 51,will spill out over the bead 51 on the tray 26 and Will then drop intothe upper portion of the housing 26 on the upper side of the wall 25.The device shown in Figures to 18, inclusive, will operate similar tothat for Figures 1 to 9, with the exception that the closure 86 iselevated by horizontal swinging of the lever I05.

I claim:

1. A popcorn machine comprising an upright casing, a heater housing onthe upper end of said casing, said housing including a cylindrical sidewall and a top wall formed with upwardly curved marginal edges, said topwall constituting a hot plate, a heating element in said housing, avertically disposed rotary shaft extending through said housing, a coverfixed to said shaft and adapted when in lower operative position tooverlie said top wall, agitating arms fixed to said shaft above said topwall, a power member in said casing, a driving connection between saidpower member and said shaft, and means in said casing correlated withsaid shaft for moving the latter endwise.

2. A popcorn machine comprising an upright casing, a heater housing onthe upper end of said casing, said housing including a dished top walland a cylindrical side wall, a. cover, a shaft fixed to said coverrotatably extending downwardly through said housing and into saidcasing, a heater in said housing, means for rotating said shaft, anagitator fixed to said shaft and adapted when in operative position tobe disposed closely adjacent the upper side of said top wall, a coverfixed to said shaft and engaging about said agitator, and means forelevating said shaft and cover, said latter means including resilientmeans for normally holding said shaft and cover in an upper inoperativeposition.

3. A popcorn machine comprising an upright casing, a heater housing onthe upper end of said casing, said housing including a dished top walland a cylindrical side wall, a cover, a shaft fixed to said coverrotatably extending downwardly through said housing and into saidcasing, a heater in said housing, means for rotating said shaft, anagitator fixed to said shaft and adapted when in operative position tobe disposed closely adjacent the upper side of said top wall, a coverfixed to said shaft and engaging about said agitator, and means forelevating said shaft and cover, said latter named means including a rocklever carried by said casing, and a collar fixed to said shaft andengageable by said lever upon upward rocking thereof for raising saidshaft to inoperative position.

4. A popcorn machine comprising an upright casing, a heater housing onthe upper end of said casing, said housing including a, dished top walland a cylindrical side wall, a cover, a shaft fixed to said coverrotatably extending downwardly through said housing and into saidcasing, a heater in said housing, means for rotating said shaft, anagitator fixed to said shaft and adapted when in operative position tobe disposed closely adjacent the upper side of said to wall, a coverfixed to said shaft and engaging about said agitator, and means forelevating said shaft and cover, said latter named means including a rocklever carried by said casing, a spring constantly urging said lever toan upper position, and a collar fixed on said shaft engageable by saidlever for raising said shaft to inoperative position.

5. A popcorn machine comprising an upright casing, a heater housing onthe upper end of said casing, said housing including a dished top walland a cylindrical side wall, a cover, a shaft fixed to said coverrotatably extending downwardly through said housing and into saidcasing, a heater in said housing, means for rotating said shaft, anagitator fixed to said shaft and adapted when in operative position tobe disposed closely adjacent the upper side of said top wall, a coverfixed to said shaft and engaging about said agitator, and means forelevating said shaft and cover, said latter means including ahorizontally swingable lever carried by said casing, a flexibleoperative connection between said lever and said shaft, and latch meansfor locking said lever in a shaft elevating position.

6. A popcorn machine comprising an upright casing, a heater housing onthe upper end of said casing, said housing including a dished top walland a cylindrical side wall, a cover, a shaft fixed to said coverrotatably extending downwardly through said housing and into saidcasing, a heater in said housing, means for rotating said shaft, anagitator fixed to said shaft and adapted when in operative position tobe disposed closely adjacent the upper side of said top wall, a coverfixed to said shaft and engaging about said agitator, and means forelevating said shaft and cover, said latter named means including a rocklever carried by said casing, a spring constantly urging said lever toan upper position, and spring-pressed latch means for latching saidlever in a lower position.

RONALD R. PERKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,441,941 Shafter May 18, 1948FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,103 Great Britain A. D. 1895

